7d Series Winners Brighten Sky With Buckles

More than a bucket full of buckles were handed out to the winners in the 2010 7D Series last month.

The night sky at Payson Event Center was a little brighter than usual July 27. That was when the first-place winners in the 7D Series were presented with at least 14 sparkling prize belt buckles.

The 7D Series, with its barrel racing and pole bending contests, started April 20 and concluded July 6. The awards program was held July 27. About 76 competitors, ranging in age from 6 to 70+, participated in this 8th year of the event, which is sponsored by the Payson Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department.

Age and gender were not determining factors in which divisions the riders and their horses were placed. The divisions were 1 through 7, with those having the fastest times going into Division 1 (D1), so a 6-year-old rider could conceivably compete with a senior citizen, as explained by Kaprice Bachtell, Payson Event Center coordinator for Parks & Rec.

When the series first started, Bachtell made the division placements by averaging the competitors’ first two times. In the contests that followed, she said they could move up in the divisions, but not down.

The season-ending awards were based on accumulated points as well as times in which the contestants completed the barrel and pole bending courses.

Buckles were awarded to the first-place finishers and, in some cases, several contestants ended up with two buckles. The overall award-winners — Linda White in barrels and Lori Allen in pole bending — also received buckles.

The contestants who won second through fifth places did not leave the awards program empty-handed. Bachtell arranged to have ghost awards for everyone else, prizes donated by area businesses and provided by the Town of Payson.

“The ghost awards were so popular I plan to have them again at the end of the next series,” Bachtell said. The next series is the Turn & Burn contests that are currently being held at the Event Center Tuesday nights through the end of September.

“I want to thank all the participants and the businesses that supported the program,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without my volunteers.” She said she had an indispensible crew of eight great volunteers who helped with the 2010 7D Series.